15" tire help

[C10CoryM]

Hey guys.

Looking for help figuring out what my best options are for tires for slush series. The main goal is to have enough feedback from the tires in the cold/wet to still learn with. Obviously I would like to be competitive too, but my driving needs to improve first and foremost. Car is 09 Yaris. Stock except for camber bolts up front (yes, they are legal :þ )

Current tire/wheels:
-set of steelies w/ all seasons. Zero feedback at autox in wet, and noisy in dry. No overly thrilled with these on the street either.
-set of alloys w/ RA1s (from the other car. I'd prefer to leave them on the other car though)
-set of alloys which will have NT-01s in spring (I can buy a set for 1/2 price)

Alloy wheels aren't used in salt. So I figure my best bet is to just get a good set of all-seasons and throw them on the steelies. Then as soon as the salt goes away, use the NT01s.

Assuming that makes sense, then the only choices I can think of are:
Kumho Ecsta 4X 195/55r15 or 205/55r15 (195s make more sense?)
Potenza RE960AS 195/60r15 (sidewall is getting pretty tall and is 3lbs heavier. Car has ~100hp and geared high so shorter/lighter is better.)
So far the 195/55 4X is what I am leaning for.

The other option I've heard is to just run the R-comps even in the cold. I ran the RA1s at 10°C and they still stuck well after the first corner or two. I get the NT01s cheap enough I am not worried about hurting them, but I would like to keep the RA1s happy so I took them off the car.

Thanks for any help.
Cory

[Traum]

Have you considered going with the Toyo R1R @ 195/55/15, Cory? I am not sure how well it'll stack against the Kumho 4X in Jan/Feb conditions, but it is supposed to be quite a good tire even in the colder, wetter times. And when it warms up and dries out in March/April, the tire will perform even better. You can also keep running that tire and still stay in the street tire index class, whereas your RA1 will not be legal for it.

-Rick

[C10CoryM]

Have you considered going with the Toyo R1R @ 195/55/15, Cory?

Hi Rick. I kind of assume if it were good enough conditions to run R1Rs, I may as well be on the NT01s or RA1s? Also if I were to have R1R I would have to mount them on my steel wheels and run them all the time in winter. Probably not ideal. I think I am best off with something I can just leave on the car for winter (minimal snow driving. I can walk to work if req'd). So if the R1R can do that I would consider it, but it seems unlikely it will stay sticky enough?

Thanks.
Cory

PS: I read they were suggesting banning the R1R in that size for ST (apparantly the 195 is a different/faster compound).

[C10CoryM]

Unless someone has more input I think I will order some ecsta 4x and run them anytime it's too cold/salty for the NT01s. This way I have tires that will get me around in the few days of snow, let me feel enough of the car at autoX to keep improving my driving, and also have something reasonable to throw on for roadtrips where the NT01s would be wasted.

Cheers.

[thenorm]

Ya, I think it was 1 too many requirements.

Decent in snow.
Excellent in rain.
No noise.
High performance dry.

I think I could recommend a tire for 3 of these...

[C10CoryM]

Ya, I think it was 1 too many requirements.

Decent in snow.
Excellent in rain.
No noise.
High performance dry.

I think I could recommend a tire for 3 of these...

Don't forget, I want them cheap too

I'll just order the Ecsta 4X and see how they do. Hopefully well enough that I have some idea of what the car is doing.